14 DAY TRIAL // Rumors of Google’s upcoming Nexus 8 or Nexus 9 tablet have been making rounds on the Internet for quite some time now. Most of them agree we’re going to be seeing the 8.9-inch tablet appear into the wild later this summer, probably at Google’s next I/O event scheduled for June.
But until that date is upon us, the tablet has already been spotted online in the Chromium issue tracker report, reports Myce. Apparently, the device has been codenamed “Flounder,” which is an oceanic fish.
Since previous Nexus devices have also been nicknamed after fish internally, we can be fairly certain at this point that Google’s upcoming slate will pertain to the Nexus family.
There’s no information regarding the manufacturer of the upcoming device, but the Chromium issue tracker does reveal an interesting detail.
Flounder apparently runs an AA branch build that is the development build for Android SDK tools. And Google’s Android build naming convention shows Flounder has an OS version made on May 6 2014.
Furthermore, Myce points out the build’s fingerprint has a google/volantis mention attached to it, a pretty mysterious detail.
According to the publication, a developing mobile software company called Volantis existed but was purchased by another one in 2011. The name Volantis also brings Game of Thrones vibes, but we don’t suppose Google plans to release a Fantasy-branded Nexus tablet.
We have been hearing of Nexus 8 tablet for a while now, but manufacturing details about the product are quite sketchy at the moment. The latest report says Google will be partnering with HTC to bring this device to life.
Google has been courting HTC for the first-generation Nexus 7, but back then the Taiwanese company was mostly focused on its smartphone business and decided against expanding its tablet reach.
The next-gen Nexus tablet is expected to arrive with a pretty high price-tag that is said to revolve around the $299 / €214 margin.
Since the previous Nexus 7 tablets appeared on the market in summer, soon after the Google I/O conference, the Nexus 8 will probably abide by the same rules.
As we already mentioned, the search giant will most likely unveil the new slate during the I/O event scheduled in June. And if we’re lucky, we will see the Nexus 8 arrive with Android 4.5 OS onboard. Or at least we will see Google present the new version of the OS at the same event with the tablet.